Jeff Jeff on sat 15 may 10
Good call Gene. Some of us are not so smart. I made notes but I was not
QUITE sure where things went. It was only after I put the thing back toget=
her
that I realized what was up.
Do you have issues with dust in the camera? I would keep a camera in the
studio but I worry about dust. (Though I work with plaster mostly.)
Jeff
In a message dated 5/15/2010 7:36:56 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
genesomdahl@GMAIL.COM writes:
I've developed the habit of having a digital camera handy whenever I
build or take something apart. I document the assembly as I go. This
certainly helps when I return to a "project" after months of absence.
Gene
On 05/15/2010 07:32 AM, Jeff Jeff wrote:
> Ed, at Continental Clay, put together a rewire/upgrade kit. As I had
> taken
> the kiln apart a few months ago I was a little unsure what went where. I
> then called Perry at Skutt and he gave me additional advice. Between
> them I
> was able to complete the repair and fire the kiln Thursday night.
--
This is a post only account. Send replies to "gene" at my ".com" domain
named "somdahl".
mel jacobson on sat 15 may 10
that is the theme for clay equipment.
`one size fits all`...and of course leave it that way.
think of teaching....over a hundred kids..think of the sizes
and shapes. everyone there is. a five foot asian girl first hour
on the wheel, a 6'9" 375 pound boy next hour. (will play ball at
ohio state.)
every potter on earth has to re/create all of the their tools
and equipment to fit them...JUST THEM.
it is one of the very important sections in the new kiln book.
make the kiln so it fits you. door size, door height. shelf
placement. think of the people that have built a kiln and it
is lifetime...and they still crawl on their belly to load it, or have to
have help putting those last two shelves in, over their heads, with their
arms up..stupid.
no potters wheel will fit most potters.
my apprentice colleen and i worked on fitting some
new lifts on both our throwing stools on wed. i need at
least another two inches as my back is bothering me.
(everything is bothering me right now. been a bad month)
her stool was too low, as she has been throwing on mine, and
loves the height. so we build wooden platforms for the
stools.
i make wooden blocks that lift the legs of potters wheels.
some make concrete block platforms under wheels.
nils has built a stand up wheel system with the foot pedal
bolted to the side of the wheel. he uses his hand to control
the speed. (see his videos)
one has to be very creative with tools and equipment, they do
not come ready made...they are made for average..not everyone.
does your car seat adjust? god, i hope so.
i drilled holes through my axner wheel to bolt the splash pan to the
wheel body. it was cheesy, and i did not like it, so i fixed it.
i have gone back to an old brent as my second wheel. sent the
foot pedals and control box back to brent and they re/conditioned
them for me. new wiring, and controls in the pedal as they had worn
out. two wheels, like new. worth the time and effort and price. both late
60's wheels. the folks at brent are terrific. they do it right.
same for loading kilns: they are top loaders because they are inexpensive.
easy to make...watch what would happen if L@L only made front
loaders and the price is $18,000. scream, yell...and then the posts would
come on clayart...`anyone know where i can buy a CHEAP kiln.` you can buy
a cheap kiln now...a top loader. re/built it to fit you.
at the high school pat filled three kilns a day. all skutt
1027's. she was challenged
with size, and large breasts. so, i built concrete block platforms
in front of the
kilns...cemented them in. i had found an old leather shop apron someplace
and she wore that. we threw an old blanket over the kiln edge. it was
easy for her.
i really don't know why folks don't cut down the height of the legs of
an electric kiln. take off five inches. lay a blanket of kaowool under th=
e
kiln, if the floor is concrete or fire proof, you will be fine, just leave
some air space...or, take off the
legs and make a brick base with air gaps. who said you have to keep
the legs? my skutt 181 is too low for me, so i made my own stand out
of bricks to lift it up. just make sure you measure the heat on the floor
of your space. if you are on wood, use brick and kaowool under your kiln.
kaowool is magic.
it is amazing how people buy things, and just use it that way for life.
my god, do you use kiln polish on the outside? `my god, my kiln
has a chip out of it.`..return it to paragon. it is not living room furnit=
ure,
it is gd damn kiln. use it like a kiln.
i just spent two days working on the kiln sitter for my old L@L.
it has a long tube, and it was broken, and the metal rod was burned
off inside the kiln. and, because i am really pissy right now, i was
determined to fix that thing. i took it all apart, and of course no
one local had a rod that was 9 3/4 long. so, howard arnold got
one for me, but the bracket that holds the rod had worn through
and would not seat in the tube...i build a small tube of alum. and placed
it over the rod and snugged it up with washers. put the entire thing
together and it works like a dream. then the button started to stick
that turns on the kiln...crap. take it all apart again and lubed everythin=
g
and flushed it all with elec spray material. tapped it with a small hammer
and now it works...a small piece of slag must have come loose. i should
be set now for another 500 firings. (got that kiln from a dump..free.)
i also want to thank arnold howard from paragon. he wrote a small
book on kiln repair and maintenance, and decided to give it to us
to add to our new book. so, that last 30 pages of our kiln book
is arnold's electric kiln book. what a bonus. as i have said, the
new book is a clayart book. the result of many that have made
it possible to have dozens of voices, not just one.
so, get creative. don't use tools that do not fit you..fix them.
adjust them, use brick, blocks, blankets, plywood, hardiboard, whatever
you need. but, get it to work. it would be like buying a car and the
drivers seat was backwards..hmm, get a big mirror? no, turn the
damn seat around.
mel
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
alternate: melpots7575@gmail.com
Jeff Jeff on sat 15 may 10
My Skutt 231 had some worn section plugs so I hard wired the sections
together. (The 231 precedes the 1027.)
Ed, at Continental Clay, put together a rewire/upgrade kit. As I had taken
the kiln apart a few months ago I was a little unsure what went where. I
then called Perry at Skutt and he gave me additional advice. Between them =
I
was able to complete the repair and fire the kiln Thursday night.
Three pots out of the firing sold last night during our annual open house
art show, Art-a-Whirl.
with a little help from my friends...
Jeff Longtin
In a message dated 5/15/2010 7:07:55 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
melpots2@VISI.COM writes:
that is the theme for clay equipment.
`one size fits all`...and of course leave it that way.
think of teaching....over a hundred kids..think of the sizes
and shapes. everyone there is. a five foot asian girl first hour
on the wheel, a 6'9" 375 pound boy next hour. (will play ball at
ohio state.)
every potter on earth has to re/create all of the their tools
and equipment to fit them...JUST THEM.
it is one of the very important sections in the new kiln book.
make the kiln so it fits you. door size, door height. shelf
placement. think of the people that have built a kiln and it
is lifetime...and they still crawl on their belly to load it, or have to
have help putting those last two shelves in, over their heads, with their
arms up..stupid.
no potters wheel will fit most potters.
my apprentice colleen and i worked on fitting some
new lifts on both our throwing stools on wed. i need at
least another two inches as my back is bothering me.
(everything is bothering me right now. been a bad month)
her stool was too low, as she has been throwing on mine, and
loves the height. so we build wooden platforms for the
stools.
i make wooden blocks that lift the legs of potters wheels.
some make concrete block platforms under wheels.
nils has built a stand up wheel system with the foot pedal
bolted to the side of the wheel. he uses his hand to control
the speed. (see his videos)
one has to be very creative with tools and equipment, they do
not come ready made...they are made for average..not everyone.
does your car seat adjust? god, i hope so.
i drilled holes through my axner wheel to bolt the splash pan to the
wheel body. it was cheesy, and i did not like it, so i fixed it.
i have gone back to an old brent as my second wheel. sent the
foot pedals and control box back to brent and they re/conditioned
them for me. new wiring, and controls in the pedal as they had worn
out. two wheels, like new. worth the time and effort and price. both lat=
e
60's wheels. the folks at brent are terrific. they do it right.
same for loading kilns: they are top loaders because they are inexpensive.
easy to make...watch what would happen if L@L only made front
loaders and the price is $18,000. scream, yell...and then the posts would
come on clayart...`anyone know where i can buy a CHEAP kiln.` you can buy
a cheap kiln now...a top loader. re/built it to fit you.
at the high school pat filled three kilns a day. all skutt
1027's. she was challenged
with size, and large breasts. so, i built concrete block platforms
in front of the
kilns...cemented them in. i had found an old leather shop apron someplace
and she wore that. we threw an old blanket over the kiln edge. it was
easy for her.
i really don't know why folks don't cut down the height of the legs of
an electric kiln. take off five inches. lay a blanket of kaowool under
the
kiln, if the floor is concrete or fire proof, you will be fine, just leave
some air space...or, take off the
legs and make a brick base with air gaps. who said you have to keep
the legs? my skutt 181 is too low for me, so i made my own stand out
of bricks to lift it up. just make sure you measure the heat on the floor
of your space. if you are on wood, use brick and kaowool under your kiln.
kaowool is magic.
it is amazing how people buy things, and just use it that way for life.
my god, do you use kiln polish on the outside? `my god, my kiln
has a chip out of it.`..return it to paragon. it is not living room
furniture,
it is gd damn kiln. use it like a kiln.
i just spent two days working on the kiln sitter for my old L@L.
it has a long tube, and it was broken, and the metal rod was burned
off inside the kiln. and, because i am really pissy right now, i was
determined to fix that thing. i took it all apart, and of course no
one local had a rod that was 9 3/4 long. so, howard arnold got
one for me, but the bracket that holds the rod had worn through
and would not seat in the tube...i build a small tube of alum. and placed
it over the rod and snugged it up with washers. put the entire thing
together and it works like a dream. then the button started to stick
that turns on the kiln...crap. take it all apart again and lubed
everything
and flushed it all with elec spray material. tapped it with a small hamme=
r
and now it works...a small piece of slag must have come loose. i should
be set now for another 500 firings. (got that kiln from a dump..free.)
i also want to thank arnold howard from paragon. he wrote a small
book on kiln repair and maintenance, and decided to give it to us
to add to our new book. so, that last 30 pages of our kiln book
is arnold's electric kiln book. what a bonus. as i have said, the
new book is a clayart book. the result of many that have made
it possible to have dozens of voices, not just one.
so, get creative. don't use tools that do not fit you..fix them.
adjust them, use brick, blocks, blankets, plywood, hardiboard, whatever
you need. but, get it to work. it would be like buying a car and the
drivers seat was backwards..hmm, get a big mirror? no, turn the
damn seat around.
mel
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
alternate: melpots7575@gmail.com
Snail Scott on sat 15 may 10
On May 15, 2010, at 7:07 AM, mel jacobson wrote:
> ... don't use tools that do not fit you..fix them...
My grandfather was one of those rare inventors
who actually made money at it - a lot of money.
No big flashy famous things, but I'll bet that 90%
of the people reading this post own one of his
inventions and don't even know it.
Near as I can tell, he never owned an unmodified
tool in his life. He was always looking for a better
way to do things, and often found it.
After he moved into a retirement home, he set up
shop in a closet, 3' x 3' square. No wasted space,
and just the bare minimum of tools. One of the few
things that I inherited was his pliers. Ordinary steel
pliers, but he had drilled a hole through one jaw.
Never knew why he did that, but that little hole is
the most useful dang modification ever.
A related story: my first day in architecture school,
we were put into a studio filled with an assortment
of desks, stools lockers, and bulletin boards, and told
to set ourselves up. Some people started stacking
lockers, picking the best boards, making little offices
for themselves. Some people got together with their
nearest neighbors to optimize their arrangement and
share both sides of one board, etc. Others just sat on
the nearest stool wherever they found it. Half an hour
later the professor came in and said, " If you didn't
see a better way to arrange all this than the way it
was, you are in the wrong profession. You might
want to consider another major." A wake-up call for
those on a stool in a corner behind a locker, for sure.
The underlying message: Don't settle for what's given,
be proactive, and take control of your possibilities.
IT'S OK!
Sometimes, I look at my work, and I am aware of what
aspects of it are determined by the methods and tools I
use, and the feedback loop in which that resulting work
demands the use of those tools to make it. Chicken-
and-the-egg. How much of your choice of tools is based
on the work you do, and how much of the work you do is
determined by the tools you use? Can you even tell?
Think about it. Is your work governed by Kemper and
Skutt and Brent and Black&Decker, or by you?
Not everyone is a designer or a fabricator or whatever,
but nobody can know better than you what you need
from your tools. Some things are hard to change, and
others may truly be things you are stuck with, but they
may not be the things you think they are. Sometimes
you just need to squint at them sideways for a while.
-Snail
gsomdahl on sat 15 may 10
I've developed the habit of having a digital camera handy whenever I
build or take something apart. I document the assembly as I go. This
certainly helps when I return to a "project" after months of absence.
Gene
On 05/15/2010 07:32 AM, Jeff Jeff wrote:
> Ed, at Continental Clay, put together a rewire/upgrade kit. As I had
> taken
> the kiln apart a few months ago I was a little unsure what went where. I
> then called Perry at Skutt and he gave me additional advice. Between
> them I
> was able to complete the repair and fire the kiln Thursday night.
--
This is a post only account. Send replies to "gene" at my ".com" domain nam=
ed "somdahl".
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